# Sky Guide vs SkySafari 7 Plus

The clearest difference is price: Sky Guide at Free against SkySafari 7 Plus's $9.99. Sky Guide also leads on review sentiment (86% vs 46%) and ratings volume (374K vs 1.7K). SkySafari 7 Plus's advantage is iOS requirement (14.1 vs 18.0). On rating, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model there is nothing between them.

Sky Guide is free to download; SkySafari 7 Plus costs $9.99 up front. Sky Guide sells 6 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month and SkySafari 7 Plus sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.8 for Sky Guide against 4.7 for SkySafari 7 Plus. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Sky Guide has 374K ratings behind it against 1.7K, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 86% of Sky Guide's written reviews are positive against 46% of SkySafari 7 Plus's.

Sky Guide ships an update every 2 weeks, SkySafari 7 Plus monthly. The most recent releases landed on September 25, 2026 and September 24, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Sky Guide | SkySafari 7 Plus |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | **Free** | $9.99 |
| Rating | **[4.8 (374K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/sky-guide/id576588894/reviews)** | [4.7 (1.7K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/skysafari-7-plus/id1567654881/reviews) |
| Number of ratings | **374K** | 1.7K |
| Positive reviews | **86.0% of reviews** | 45.7% of reviews |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | **Every 2 weeks** | Monthly |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Best chart rank | **#19** | — |
| Size | 379 MB | 1.1 GB |
| Requires iOS | 18.0 | **14.1** |
| Devices | **iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, Vision Pro** | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Fifth Star Labs LLC](https://appshunter.io/developer/451087546) | [Simulation Curriculum Corp.](https://appshunter.io/developer/791341744) |

## What reviewers say

### Sky Guide

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/sky-guide/id576588894)

**Currently charting:** #19 Top Grossing · Reference, #37 Top Free · Reference (US App Store)

Identify stars, constellations, planets, and satellites in real-time by holding your device overhead. Explore celestial bodies with AR overlays, track satellites like the ISS, and travel through time to view past and future astronomical events. Perfect for both novice and experienced stargazers.

**Highlights:** Automatic celestial object identification, Augmented reality sky overlay, Satellite tracking and notifications, Time travel for past/future viewing, Personalized astronomical event calendar, Offline functionality

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Family Sharing, Apple Watch app

**In-app purchases (6)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| PLUS | $4.99 | per month |
| PRO | $8.99 | per month |
| PLUS | $39.99 | per year |
| PRO | $59.99 | per year |
| All Constellations | $1.99 | one-time |
| PRO Lifetime | $249.99 | one-time |

**What reviewers like**

- 🌟 Stunning visuals and graphics
- 📚 Wealth of information on celestial objects
- 🧭 Accurate and responsive compass/AR features
- 🌌 Immersive stargazing experience
- 🔍 Ability to identify stars, planets, and satellites

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🧭 Occasional compass/location calibration issues
- 💰 Subscription model limits access to some features
- 🌍 Lack of support for certain regions/locations
- 🕰️ Outdated information on some celestial objects

**Reported bugs**

- App freezes when near polar regions
- Occasional crashes or performance issues

**Requested features**

- Add more detailed information on moons of planets
- Implement mosaic planning tools for astrophotography
- Provide earlier notifications for satellite/ISS passes
- Allow users to share their observations and photos
- Improve integration with telescope/camera equipment


### SkySafari 7 Plus

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/skysafari-7-plus/id1567654881)

Explore the cosmos with a powerful space simulator and telescope control. Discover astronomical events, track celestial objects, and plan your stargazing sessions with real-time data and historical simulations.

**Highlights:** Full-featured space simulator, Telescope control (ASCOM Alpaca, INDI), Events Finder for astronomical occurrences, Real-time user observation tracking (OneSky), Guided stargazing sessions (SkyCast), Observation planning and recording tools, Home and Lock Screen widgets

**Features:** Family Sharing, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (3)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| SkySafari Premium Monthly | $4.99 | per month |
| SkySafari Premium | $34.99 | per year |
| Apollo Lunar Missions | Free | one-time |

**What reviewers like**

- 🚀 Great app, preferred over Stellarium
- 👍 Intuitive and clean interface
- 👍 Useful 'Tonight' tab
- 👍 Accurate and precise for telescope use
- 👍 Impressive data and functionality

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🙄 Constant upgrade spam and notifications
- 🐛 'Tonight' feature crashes on iPad
- 💰 Paid features hidden behind paywall
- 🐛 Crashes when using 'Tonight' feature
- 🐛 Syncing and connectivity issues

**Reported bugs**

- 'Tonight' feature crashes
- App crashes on launch or when using certain features
- Connectivity issues with telescopes
- Syncing problems between devices

**Requested features**

- Add more telescope brands and models
- Improve notification settings to only show relevant events
- Allow hiding of menu bar for cleaner viewing
- Improve font sizes and readability
- Add ability to import observation records from previous versions


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Sky Guide free?

Sky Guide is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Is SkySafari 7 Plus free?

SkySafari 7 Plus costs $9.99, and also offers in-app purchases.

### Which has better reviews, Sky Guide or SkySafari 7 Plus?

Sky Guide is rated higher. Sky Guide averages 4.8 out of 5 from 374K ratings, while SkySafari 7 Plus averages 4.7 from 1.7K ratings.

### Do Sky Guide or SkySafari 7 Plus have ads?

Neither Sky Guide nor SkySafari 7 Plus shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, Sky Guide or SkySafari 7 Plus?

Sky Guide ships an update every 2 weeks, and SkySafari 7 Plus monthly. Most recently, Sky Guide was updated on September 25, 2026 and SkySafari 7 Plus on September 24, 2026.

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*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*